Bee-Line Bus System
}} ::This article is about the Westchester County (New York) bus system. For the former Nassau County (New York) bus operator, see Bee-Line, Incorporated. The Bee-Line Bus System is a bus system serving . The system is owned by the county's Department of Transportation and operated, on contract (except for three routes), by Yonkers-based Liberty Lines Transit, Inc.. The current existence of Bee-Line dates back to the late 1970s when thirteen private providers began running a unified system under the aegis of Westchester County with Liberty Lines either buying out or obtaining franchises for the other twelve. The three routes not run by Liberty Lines, Routes 16, 18, and 78, are run by Peekskill-based Peekskill Transit Inc. A 2004 estimate of ridership showed that an average of fifty-five thousand (55,000) people ride on the system daily. Scope of service Within Westchester The system's 57 routes are mostly concentrated in the more urban southern portion of the county, though the more rural northern portion does have service, particularly near its more populated areas such as , , or . White Plains, the county seat and most centrally located city, is a major transportation hub, with many routes converging on the city's TransCenter. Yonkers, New Rochelle and Mount Vernon, the other major cities in the county (all located at the southern end), are also well served. All but the county's smallest, most rural communities have at least rush hour service. Outside Westchester Because Westchester County borders on the New York City borough of , many of the Bee-Line's routes operate into the Bronx, offering Westchester residents connections to the New York City Subway system. Every subway line in The Bronx is served by at least one Bee-Line route. The Bee-Line System also operates an express route (the BxM4C) from White Plains, Greenburgh and Yonkers along to in (return trips operate on within Manhattan). While the service is largley used by Westchester residents, passengers are allowed to use buses for trips wholly within The Bronx as well. In addition, route 12 (Yorktown-Purchase-White Plains) briefly enters , and follows the same practices. The entire fleet is scheduled to be equipped with fareboxes that accept MetroCards, along with a fare increase to $2.00 by late Spring 2007. The BxM4C fare will decrease to $5.00, on par with other MTA express buses. http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061005/NEWS02/610050321/1018 MetroCard is currently scheduled to debut on Bee-Line on April 1st.http://www.westchestergov.com/beelinebus/images/web_metrocard_poster.jpg 2005 Strike On March 3, 2005, employees of Liberty Lines went on strike three days after their contract with their union, the (TWU) expired; the breaking point of the strike was employee demands regarding retirement age and benefits (Liberty Lines did provide a compromise on the former, albeit in trade for other benefit givebacks that the union did not accept). Service was suspended on all Bee-Line routes except for the non-Liberty 16, 18, and 78 as well as ParaTransit (a Bee Line service for the handicapped). The strike was standstill for over a month, significantly affecting school attendance in , and , where Liberty Lines handled a majority of the 3 districts' school busing needs and bringing effects to the poorest residents of Westchester County who often cannot afford taxis or Metro-North trains which lead to many having to quit their jobs. Employees (who were paid from a "strike fund" for the month of March) and Liberty Lines management (who still received payments from the county) were not adversely affected though. On April 19, a tentative agreement was reached between Liberty Lines and the union; the next day, the striking union members met at the Portuguese-American Community Center in Yonkers and approved the settlement by a margin of 3 to 1. Bus service resumed Saturday, April 23, with fares being waived for all riders through the end of May and March "Passports" being honored through the month of June. Ridership saw a near-doubling versus the prior year in the month of May and for the most part has had a noticeable increase since thenhttp://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060110/NEWS02/601100305/1029/NEWS13 Routes The following is a listing of routes run by Bee-Line. At bus stops in the Bronx, the routes are prefixed with a "W" to signify "Westchester County" to fall in line with other nomenclature used by the MTA. They also documented as such in various MTA and New York City Government media. All service is wheelchair accessible except for the BxM4C, 43, and 77, all of which were finally made wheelchair accessible in 2010. Local service Summer service Bus to rail These routes operate weekday rush hours only. Express/Limited Stops Except for 9 which operates Weekdays, and 78 which operates seven days a week, all of these routes operate weekday rush hours only. Shuttle Service These routes operate weekday rush hours only. Retired Fleet This list only includes buses purchased in the Bee Line era. Active Fleet *Currently being delivered *Currently being transferred to MTA Bus Company of New York External links *Bee-Line Bus System *Liberty Lines *Bee-Line Roster as of 2002